Synapse wing motorised

The original Experimental Airlines design for the Synapse flying wing included motor and battery housed in a pod. So far I had only used the wing as an unpowered light weight slope soarer.

Ed uses Dollar Tree Foamboard which is very cheap and light but not available in Aus. Here we can use tape covered depron in the same way for scratch built foamies.

My pure slope soaring Synapse (featured in the banner above) was quite light and very easy to lose in the turns. It often ended up at the back of the dunes. I really should have ballasted it up more, but it did introduce me to the thrill of sloping.

I thought it was time to try adding a motor and see how it flew under power.

I made up a simple square tubular fuselage and added an EPP nose cone with an attached tongue to hold the battery.

First I tried a tiny 24g Hextronic 1500kV motor with 8 x 4 prop and it worked perfectly. With a flying weight of 550g using a 500mAh 3S battery I could fly quite slow and smooth.


That was fine until one of the three motor
wires broke right in close to the windings, no hope of repair. Both of my 24g motors have died that way, the wires are not well enough supported as supplied.

Next smallest motor in my box of gear was a Turnigy 2826/6 2200kV with a 6 x 4 prop. I didn't like the combo to begin with, very loud and buzzy, but after a simple prop balance it worked like a dream.

This design is great fun to fly and virtually indestructible.

I can still fly slow and smooth with low throttle and also crank up the revs for more speed.
Flying weight is up to around 650g with the heavier motor and bigger 1300mAh battery.

One unexpected consequence of the extra weight is that the slope soaring performance is much better. It turns with momentum and soars very smoothly along the dune.

Launching a pusher prop plane looks dangerous but in this photo sequence you can see my hand is well clear of the prop as it passes. Just have to remember to follow through in the throw.